Hive Mind
by Nfreeze876
Summary: Based on the highly anticipated AAA game Destiny, Hive Mind follows the journal entries of the three members of the fireteam sent to Moon's intelligence base. Taken place when the Hive emerged from the Moon, read and find out just what happened to those who were killed by the Hive and what happened to the fireteam. Relax and Review!
1. Prologue: Nathan Wolf Freeze

_**"Legends are carved across history by the brave."**_

_**-Guardians Grimoire Card**_

Prologue

Me, Myself, and I

A week after Moon Base Echo went offline

I sat on top of the lifeless, gloomy wall high above the sleeping city. The ledge that leads hundreds of feet down didn't faze me as I leaned against a stone support pillar, on watch for hopefully the last time. I might be getting a mission. But I needed to focus on keeping watch because failing to stay vigilant could get me killed. Vanguards foster-son or not, I had to follow the laws just like everyone else. I could get away with some things, however. My helmet sat beside me, staring off as if it too was on watch. I'm supposed to keep it on in case I needed to be communicated, but with the dozens of times I've spent up here I've learned that the commanding officer just bullshits you to do the pointless things his commanding officer ordered him to do when he was on watch. My sniper was more than three feet away from me, another rule I don't care about breaking. Didn't have three square meals yesterday, yet another pointless rule I could get away with. If I was anyone else but the son of a Vanguard, (adopted or not) I would have been either punished severely or executed.

But no one would kill me because I'm one of the greatest Hunters alive today. Maybe second greatest to the awoken Hunter that slept beside the pillar five feet away from mine. I should really wake her up before she gets caught, officer dickwad will be here soon. The greatest Hunter getting caught sleeping and with her helmet off on one of the most important jobs in The City would not look good for us Hunters or our fireteam. I'll give her another couple minutes, she needs it.

Some find this job an honor and that the city trusts them, after one night they realize it's a chore at best. My team is getting tired of looking out to the horizon from 2100 to 0600 hours for four days a week. At least the solitude is nice. But I was nervous and stressed. My palms were sweating, my mind was racing. The second I heard about the attack I knew someone would be sent and my team had a better chance at being picked than anyone else. For about a month my team and I have been waiting for a real mission. We deserve it.

I looked over to my friend and examined her the way I have for four days a week this past month. She had skin the color of a woman who has never seen the light of day, hair a common shade of pink dye, and a peaceful face that tricks you into believing she's nice. I needed to wake her up, but doing that meant I'd get the fury of a cranky Hunter. The last time I woke her up before closing time I was threatened to being thrown off the wall.

Despite the fact we are rivals, i feel sorry for her. Her Ghost, the reason she is still alive today, was destroyed by Riksis, a Devil Archon for the Fallen. Every Guardians Ghost is attuned to a single person, the one it revived from the dead. There is no way to repair a Ghost, so every loss is irreplaceable. Ritz lost not only her closest friend but now she can no longer be revived. This ruined her. She could no longer compete in the Crucible against other Guardians, and she is always getting asked by her Foster Mother to stop going on missions, settle down and get married. Being the stubborn and arrogant person she is, of course she refused that. I'm always worried about her, and our other squad mate too, they both don't have Ghosts.

I sighed in boredom and nudged my friend's leg to no success. I shook my head and scooted closer to shake her awake, finally I got to her.

"Fuck off, still your shift." She mumbled, half-asleep. Technically, both of us have to wake up because this is the time when officer dickwad does his morning lap around the wall and I've already used the excuse that I knocked her out so she wouldn't throw me off.

"Get up, it's almost closing time. We have about 15 minutes until we're caught resting." I tried to wake her again, holding back the urge to push her off before she does to me.

"Handle it or else. I'm too tired to deal with your shit." She slapped my hand and resumed her dreaming of all the different ways to hurt me.

"Get over it, and I'm not bailing you out again. Last time I did, the officer almost grounded me for another month, and I'd still have to sit here every week. So get up before we're out of luck to get that mission." I knew once I spoke long sentences like that and I'm acknowledged, she won't be going back to sleep.

"God dammit." She opened her pure blue eyes and lifted one leg up to turn and face me, not sure if to talk or if I'm going to be kicked. Either way, I inched back to my original place. "Why couldn't you give me 10 more minutes? You know officer dickwad is slow as hell, the unlucky ones on the south side have to wait an hour after closing to get released, it'll take him 20 to get here."

"He doesn't release us at a specific time; he's starting to get here sooner." I reminded her since I'm always the one that gets the last shift. I shook my head to end the argument and asked if she saw anything during her shift.

She nodded, "A couple Fallen, but you're making the report." She smiled in thought, loving my misery when it came to pain and paperwork. So this is what I get for not getting her killed?

Several minutes later I turned my head at the sound of slowing footsteps, time to have a pleasant chat with officer dickwad. I stood up and nodded at him, a _hello_ to me, and a disrespectful motion to him. Spark and I prepared for the lecture we're going to get for not having our helmets on and snipers not close by.

"Hunter Wolf and Spark, what the fuck is up with you not having your helmets on?" If you want to know what he sounds like, imagine a cliche drill sergeant but in heavy armor and a sniper latched on his back. I hoped Spark would give an excuse instead of throwing me under the bus, which would hurt my chances of getting the mission.

Luckily she took the lead, "Got stuffy in there sir, our ventilation broke the last time we were on Mars. Should we report to F.O.T.C. Armory for repairs?"

"No, you must report to your Titan friend. He said to meet you at the City Center ASAP, especially before the crowds rush in." Officer dickwad started to run away but turned around and pointed at me as if he was accusing me of murder. "You haven't been to Mars for three months, now go before I report both of you to a higher chain of command."

I held back a scoff as he left; report us to the Vanguard? the same that our parents are in? Spark put on her helmet and mumbled what I was thinking. "Jane and Rick would flick this guy off the face of Earth if they heard he threatened us. What an ass."

Spark and I walked side by side to the city center. The city was starting to wake up. If we were going to talk to Brick without having to yell, we needed to talk fast. Store owners and merchants called out like town criers to try and get people's attention. The shops getting the most customers were ones that sold coffee and other thing people need to start the day off. The good thing about being a regular at shops is that they know your face and what you usually order, that saved my morning as we were approached by local café owner who held a coffee and a donut in each hand.

Ritz took it without a word and kept on walking as I thanked him and put it on my tab so I could catch up to her. Now that we had caffeine and a slightly less empty stomach, we can take on the next couple hours. Five minutes of walking and eating later, we finally reached Brick sitting in front of a store. I suddenly felt guilty because I saw he bought us coffee and a donut, so being a regular and having good friends is my advice for life. We sat down with no intention of telling him we already ate, so we started for a second time after I gave an appreciative nod. Brick didn't waste any time trying to get to the point of meeting here.

"I know you want to get that mission, Wolf." He turned his head to Spark and tilted the cup of energy to me. "Do you know how fucking crazy he is?"

Spark smiled and leaned back, "We've known each other for years so yes, I do."

I looked around us and laughed to myself, realizing they're only a couple dozen fireteams with one of every race. It's so rare that people would think we're just friends, but then again the races aren't exactly best friends. Exo's are a self-aware machines who are slightly stronger than the rest of us, because of that you'll find that Exo Titans and Hunters is a common thing; Brick is part Exo part human who doesn't accept his kind's anger towards the Awoken and their supposed link to The Traveler.

Ritz is a rare type of Awoken because she's a Hunter. Awoken's are human-like beings with translucent skin, born with the powers of The Traveler, and colors of hair normal humans would usually have to dye to get. It is said that the Awoken were born in the Collapse, descended from those who tried to flee its wrath. Something happened to them out on the edge of the deep black, in the Darkness, and they were forever changed.

And I'm a human, of course. We are survivors, tough and resilient, descended from those who built a Golden Age only to see it ripped away. Now, after an age of retreat and desperate struggle, we fight to take back their solar system and claim a new future.

There are those who believe the Traveler chose Earth for a reason. Now it is humanity's obligation to prove itself worthy of the Traveler's faith.

"Wolf" Brick got my attention back. "I will not forgive you if you go to the Vanguards and request this mission. In case you weren't listening, there are no reports of survivors after 20 minutes of the attack. 20 minutes! There were hundreds of scientist and guards stationed. Going to the Moon will be suicide.

"I understand that" I responded boringly after the last bite of my pastry, looking up to the Tower, the largest building in the City.

The Tower is the only home many Guardians ever know.

To the people of the City, it stands as a promise that we can endure. The merchants and citizens who fill its plazas and halls are as dedicated to the reclamation of our worlds as the Guardians who venture into the Darkness beyond.

That is apart of my home.

I'd die before I see it overthrown or in ashes.


	2. Introduction: Nathan Wolf Freeze

_**"The Darkness is coming back. We will not survive this time." -The Speaker  
**_

**File Recovered, Scout Ship ****"Plan C"****, Hunter Nathan ****"Wolf" ****Freeze, Journal Entry #23**

Introduction

The Beginning of the End

2 weeks after Hive infested Earth's Moon

I needed this mission.

I reminded myself again to keep my back straight, hands held together behind my back, nod at the Vanguards, and speak when spoken to. I needed to speak loud and clear so they know I'm totally up for this mission. My deprivation of a good firefight has left me restless these past weeks. I waited outside the door of the Vanguards room anxiously awaiting for them to make a decision about what we will do about this and if they decide to send a fire team in to activate "Plan C", meaning replacing all data of locations of bases elsewhere to different planets that have other alien species or that we'll be adding a large crater to our moon and start building a new base. I dug my hands deep into my pockets waiting for a decision to be made.

Spark stood me up after I asked politely if she'll be here to see what the Vanguards would decide. The doors opened and Rick, the Hunter of the Vanguards walked in with a green robe to symbolize camouflage. I knew he argued against me but had to accept due to majority rules.

"Come on in," He said before whispering to me as I walked by "I don't want you to go through with this."

He followed me in until I took my place at the head of the table, only then he returned to his cluttered work station. I desperately tried to hide my goofy smile as I nodded to the others stood at the table.

To my left stood the beautiful and mystical Awoken Warlock Vanguard, Jane. She leaned onto the table, eyes bloodshot but focused only on the holographic screen in front her. A thin gold ring wrapped around her head in her attempt to keep her natural baby blue hair out of her eyes, to me, she looked like a maiden or a princess from some of the old world books I collected over the years. Her job was to stare at this screen which showed the status of outposts, fireteams, and bases across the solar system. Seems easy, but Jane once told me "It's a emotionally draining job, you could spend a week mourning the losses of those lost in one day." I honestly don't know how she does it. But her professional attitude and revered prowess on the battlefield gave her this position and she's not about to give it up. Another yellow light went red, then faded to black. The purple glow of the void appeared and her armband, decorated with one large diamond, turned the same shade as the glow. Jane never told me why she does that or what she did, but the rest of us guess it's some parting words for those fallen. Jane was very religious and believed that the souls of brave guardians become one with The Traveler, giving it strength.

The Hunter took up the most space on the table, so he stood at the left side with his seemingly hundreds of crumpled, folded, and rolled up papers covering the middle. Rick's job was to look over reports of enemy patrols, plan raids on enemy strongholds, and find a strategic point to set up a outpost. A simple and unaware person would say that he just dumps the papers on the paper and absorbed every arrow and word. I've been around the Vanguards long enough to disprove that, because he has a certain place and order to everything. Each stack is categorized by planet, theatre of war, and time it was wrote down. Rick's uncanny ability to confuse not only the enemy but every Guardian that looks at his work, mixed with his deadly practice with a sniper, it was obvious that he would become a Vanguard. Because of his high position, Rick wasn't afraid of anyone talking down to him, and he is the only Hunter I have ever seen wear robes.

Across the table from me was the intimidating but inspiring Vanguard Titan, Quinton. The tactician when it came to raids, Quinton became the strong but quiet type as he spent countless years as a Vanguard. He shows little emotions, but you know when he's proud and when he is understanding. The years of his dedication to defending The City is evident by the symbols stitched on his waist-worn rag. He was one of the first Titans to build the Wall and a legend at defending it. No one argued, raised a hand, or even questioned the notion of making Quinton a Vanguard. His job is to look at the scribbles Rick drew on papers about enemy stronghold and either approves or insists on a different approach to the mission.

"Rick, Jane, and Quinton. It's great to see you again" I nodded to the Vanguards, trying to mask the anticipation I had for their decision.

"Nathan, we know what you like to be called but let's all drop the formalities. Looking at you acting like you don't have a million questions and half of those asking about things we need you to do, is just strange because we only see, that," Jane waved towards me, pointing out my stature and my attitude. "When you want something badly, like a mission." Jane is possibly my favorite in the Vanguards because since she knows my need of battle so well that she either replaces full fireteams with me or just gives me assignments that needed to be done professionally and on a "need-to-know basis".

"Yes, ma'am" I dropped my shoulders, kept my back straight, and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Do you know what has happened recently?" Quinton asked with his straight-to-the-point-but-I-need-to-know-if-you-get-what-you're-about-to-do attitude toward me.

"May I plead the fifth?" I smiled to myself about an inside joke about the old world government before telling them what I studied, "The Hive snuck under our radar after we dug near the core of the moon and is right now nesting in Moon Base Echo, a data storage base equipped with one of the highest security measures. But it's a door with no wall around it compared to where we are now," I tilted my head toward a camera to my left, turned around and nodded politely to the emotionless robot guards, (pure robots, not Exo's) and continued. "'Plan C' was never put in action due to the Hive being around every corner in a matter of minutes, and you need a team stupid enough to risk their lives so the Hive won't find out how to get into the city." I grinned, "What do you need me to do?"

"Is this meeting off the record, no one will know what we'll do or what we decided here until we succeed?" The Warlock of the three spoke up, her voice like the smallest river in the Garden of Eden flowing over small, smooth pebbles.

"What's the point? Everyone knows what happened there so we might as well tell the people we're doing something about it" The Titan spoke up.

"Agreed, but it's also a mission for only one team and this can be argued about another time if you want it to, Nathan, either way we need to act fast before they get that information." Jane spoke with confidence and fear for me then, I knew even before I walked in that she took Rick's side without any hesitation and stayed stubborn and adamant about it.

"If, and I mean only if you fail your mission but you still live and we don't have contact minutes before the emergency power in that base goes out and the security is deactivated, Nathan," Rick got my attention back from the celebratory party in my mind for him saying 'yes' in context. "We will be forced to take some – drastic measures – but only if you fail." I could tell in his eyes he argued against this, that's party foul in my book. A race against time is so natural to me I found joy and a rush of adrenaline when I'm told how much time is left.

"Understood, and I'm willing to take the risk with or without other teams." I announced against my survivor instincts. If this was any other mission, I would request backup to be ready on my word.

_But this isn__'__t an ordinary mission,_ the voice in the back of my head spoke up, _The Vanguards want the least amount of civilians to know about what you__'__re about to do. Even the guards standing behind you are a security risk._

"John has been informed and Ritz is waiting for you in the lobby." Rick concluded as he set down a holo-pad I didn't see him pick up. What surprised me was Sparks name, which she never wanted me tell me for some reason. I once read it out loud when I was reading her psych-file on the way to our first mission together, she ran with the speed of lightning and snatched the holo-pad out of my hand and deleted every file I had with her real name in it. After that I decided, for my well being, not to bring up subjects she doesn't like anymore.

"Thank you sir for briefing them and giving me the mission. I promise that the objective will be completed no matter what the cost." I stepped up to the Hunter and squeezed his hand before he handed me a thin metal strip, fitted with a dossier of the moon base and the events that took place.

"Go on, Nathan. Leave before we change our minds." My father sent me away.

Spark leaned on a white steel wall, waiting for me to pass by her. We brushed shoulders and she spun to walk beside me. I could feel the anxiety and anger radiate from her like she was a moving conduit of hatred and fear.

Spark and I walked out of the Tower and into the busy city center, Guardians walked in all directions to go do either their jobs, entertain themselves at the local bar, or go home. We instinctively turned to the direction of the hangar and joined the sea of people. In the City, about 90% of its inhabitants are Guardians, those with special powers and exceptional skills. There are three types of Guardians; Hunters, ones like Spark and I, whom have a knack for stealth, precision weapons, and pistols. If you're trying to find the roots of how we came to be, I'll try to give you the short version; ask any Hunter about their past and they might try to dodge the question or start a fight with you, that's because most of us were once criminals or hunters. I might as well tell my story, right?

As a teenager after my revival, I was trained to become a Warlock. Rick forced me into it against my interests, telling me that I'm smart enough to make a difference in the world. I ran away from the city with only my armor, weapons, and knife. I survived out in the wild for months, making it by on birds and any other wildlife I could hunt, like a Hunter. My armor started to fall apart so I scavenged for any metal or cloth, like a Hunter would. I scouted the area and took notes on how the Fallen patrols move and there relocation's like I was a Hunter. I wasn't found for 7 months. I roaming band of Hunters found me during the harshest winter I've seen. Even with the substantial amount of rags and clothes I was starting to get frostbite. The Hunters saw me in my condition and brought me back to the city, two days later I was brought to the council with my information and was given a pardon. Rick surprised me when I saw he was happy for what I've done. He let me become a Hunter.

Titans, Brick and other individuals with the strength to carry a heavy machine-gun for long periods of time, also trains with us Hunters to find ways to deal with the recoil of our weapons. And lastly the Warlocks, this bunch of misfits likes to study and learn more about everything and anything from trying to figure out why the Traveler saved us, what it is, and if we can communicate with it. Their experiments go as far as to sometimes even asking us other Guardians to bring a live specimen to a remote place hundreds of miles away from the city for experiments. Besides all that, Warlocks are also fighters that are adept in the powers given to us by the Traveler, and small weapons.

You might be asking, _who is this __"Traveler" __and why is he special? _Well I'll tell you, person who lived under a rock the past couple dozen years! Not so long ago a strange object descended unto mars bearing the gift of knowledge. The Traveler, as we called him, gave mankind the ability and technology for interstellar travel for large and small vessels alike. We as a species were confused and amazed at the stranger's kindness, _where did this thing come from?_ We asked it to no avail. So we accepted its gifts and thus began the Golden Age, a beautiful time for exploration, terraforming of planets, and peace between everyone. No one fought in wars to show The Traveler respect. We gave Venus a lush jungle, Mars became a desert and our moon a thin atmosphere. We then wondered something else; _do we now have the ability to find other extraterrestrial life?_ Yes, we were if it had not found us first. Turns out The Traveler had enemies, it was being hunted. We discovered alien species started to colonize on planets like Mars, Jupiter's moon Europa, and Venus. They did not like mankind nor the fact that The Traveler favored the weak human race instead of their species so they all started a campaign against us, glassing our planet until there was nothing left excluding the glorious City with the Traveler hovering right above it on guard from anything wanting to destroy it. The Traveler, who looks like a large metal asteroid but is seemingly indestructible, saved us from extinction and gave us a chance to fight back. Thanks to the Traveler's kindness we had a chance to rebuild a civilization under his watchful eye, an army, and fight back against our enemies who at the time have turned on each other and started a whole other war.

But something happened to The Traveler, something big that happened way before I was revived. "I could tell you of the great battle, centuries ago..." The Speaker, voice of the Traveler told me on my first visit to the Tower. "How the Traveler was crippled. I could tell you of the power of the Darkness, its ancient enemy." We looked onto the Traveler in sadness, thankful, and pity. But it was my Ghost who must've felt the worse. "There are many tales, told throughout the City to frighten children. Lately those tales have stopped." He turned to face me, His porcelain-white mask calming and inspiring. "Now... the children are frightened anyway."

Ritz and I only stopped to grab our last bite of real food before reaching the hangar of hundreds and hundreds of Guardian-owned ships.

Once we escaped the roar of the city, Ritz interrogated me about the meeting. "Well, did the Vanguards give you any intel besides what we already know?" The pink-haired bad ass had one hand in her pocket the other clenched in a way - I swear - wanting to say hello to my face.

"You and Brick would've found out if you met me there like you promised," I flinched and smiled at the slight movement of her free hand. "I told them what I know and they gave me the objective."

"That's it? You walked in and they just told you what they wanted with no speeches of courage and how you might be ripped open and your bones will be used as armor or food for their soldiers?" Spark asked with confusion as we walked towards sector C's security checkpoint to meet up with Brick.

"Yeah, am I the only one who gets that treatment?" I smile widened, knowing I've spent more time with the Vanguards in that room than they've had with each other alone, that itself making me not only a favorite but an annoyance.

"Wolf," She used my nickname and confused me for a second since the Vanguards previously used my real name. "Seriously, this is suicide! They employ the best of the best to defend those bases! All those people may not have been Guardians, but they knew how to fight."

"Is Spark scared of the Hive?" I mocked her, knowing she fucking hates everything, even me on occasion, like just then.

"No, but you're scared of caves, remember the last time we fought through one? You had a panic attack halfway through once we lost power in our armor and you screamed bloody Mary, going off on 'We have to go back to the ship! We could get flanked and our motion tracker won't pick it up because it's dead!'"

"If I pushed forward, I'd be dead!" I defended the Wolf from the past.

"Brick and I pushed forward and we're alright!" She nudged me with her shoulder.

"Well we need to make sure we have enough power in our suits." I ended the topic as we passed through security, Brick waiting for us at the end of the checkpoint, wearing his heavy pure white armor, his helmets translucent visor making a strangely terrifying 'T', but I could see his eyes and mouth move in sync with anger.

"I hate you so fucking much, I just tried to pass this mission to another fireteam but the Vanguards won't have it any other way." He bluntly said to me as he started to walk with us to the armory.

"I'm sorry, if it means anything." I tried as Spark started to brief us.

"Echo Base has intense security, but we have been prepared for something like this, the front door should have a keypad that has a 12-digit high security password, if it's locked from the inside, there is a cave not too far from the entrance that we could use. It's a longer way to the main security panel where we need to go, but at least we _have_ a way in." She sighed as we walked into the locker room for the ship docked in Hangar F-9, my ship.

"We need everything we can carry, get your best weapons, load up head to toe with ammo, if there's anything we don't need, replace it with ammo." The order hung in the air awkwardly as Ritz and I put on our armor.

"As much as I hate you, I'm glad I'll go down in history as the best Hunter; and the Hunter that died from her suicidal friend." The mood lightened thanks to her comment.

"How funny, and I'll go down as the second best Hunter, and the one that killed the greatest." I nudged her with my elbow, laughing.

"Cut the chatter," Brick cut into our joke "If i'm going to die today, I at least want my last moments here to involve some goddamn peace and quiet."

"Oh, yeah… Go ahead and ignore the obvious of this mission, Brick." I said after his depressing comment, slipping magazines onto my thighs, waist, and chest.

"What are you talking about?" Ritz asked as she faced away from me to change her chest plate and knee guards, using ones that sacrifice durability for freedom of body and speed.

"Let's be honest here," I shut the locker and leaned against it, admiring Ritz's body for a quick second like it was the sun. "New enemy, unknown attack patterns, we barely even know how many there are. We can't study them on our way to the mission like we always do because we have nothing to study. All we know is that they had time to prepare for a counter-attack and they outnumber us by what could be hundreds. It'd be a miracle and a half if we survive this"

"Do you really think that?" Brick asked as the mood shifted to kind of serious.

"I don't know, I talked to Rick and he said that he rather have some others do it instead of us, even if we are one of the best. But I bet this will be just any other mission we've been on. We go in, take out a couple groups, execute 'Plan C' and get out, easy peasy." I sealed my primary guns to my back and the magnum to my right thigh, each one making a quiet noise as they locked into place.

"Whatever." Brick ended, snaps only a trained and hardened Guardian would hear on his side sounded as he walked away.

"Everyone got sufficient ammo?" I asked, walking to a data pad next to a cabinet so I can get ammunition delivered, I myself had as much as I can carry.

"I'm fine, had enough in my locker." Spark mumbled, walking out of the locker room

"Same." Brick followed.

Alright, I said something I shouldn't have.

"Is everything in check?" I asked an engineer looking after my ship. He was wearing a bright orange jumpsuit and carried a clip board with scribbles and graphs written on it.

"Everything is alright, sir, anything else besides the necessary equipment? Grappling hooks, explosives, extra batteries?" he laughed at a joke I bet Spark paid him to tell.

"No need, this might be a one way mission and if it isn't…" I brought up a clenched fist. "I'll hurt you for saying that."

He backed up a step and forfeited any other jokes up his sleeve, "Understood Hunter, all of your files have been properly transferred and copied to this holo-pad." he handed me a thin metal strip with a small button that released a holographic screen I can use to survey everything about Moon Base Echo. "Also, it wasn't me who made the routine check." He flinched back in case I made a move.

"Who did?"

"Your companion, I think he said his name was, Ghost? Great program and engineering work, he knew exactly where to check for problems and he fixed a small burp in the engine that not even I would've saw."

Right then did a small, orange, sideways gem shaped robot glide over to me, "Wolf! I just finished another survey of the ship, even though you told me to power down a couple of weeks ago!"

"Great… just when I thought I lost you." I said sarcastically.

The Speaker told me that "In its dying breath the Traveler created the Ghosts, to seek out those who can wield its Light as a weapon. Guardians, to protect us, and do what the Traveler itself no longer can."

Ghost, being my first friend and the one who revived me after The Collapse, has a deeper voice than me, a slight British accent, and on occasion makes jokes. My favorite being when I told him to go turn on the lights in a large factory, and he replied sarcastically with "We always visit such cheerful places" turned around to face the darkness and continued, "Hang tight, Let me find some sticks to rub together." He then expanded, his outer parts separating and releasing a bright sphere about a foot thick and he flew towards what I could imagine a control panel he saw on the blueprints. As he flew away, I could hear him say "And by sticks I mean highly complex circuits that I'm able to repair and replace"

So we waited for ten long seconds, then suddenly the floodlights turned on with a domino effect, alerting the Fallen of our position, he flew back fast calling "I think I've overdone it!"

Ghost is a great companion but is really annoying if let active past his completion of the given objective, so I usually order him to power down at the ship. As you can see, he's a restless little robot.


	3. Chapter 1: Nathan Wolf Freeze

_**"Our old worlds have grown feral—rabid beasts with teeth of rust and ruin. But such beasts are meant to be tamed. Or broken."**_

_**-Hunter Grimoire Card**_

Chapter 1

Home Away From Home

3 weeks after Hive infested Earth's Moon

"There isn't a lot left we could do for the infestation, Wolf" My artificial-intelligent aerial drone, Ghost, commented with its half-British half-robot voice. I sighed and slid down to a slouch on the captain's chair in the cockpit as Ghost went to go and checkup, for the hundredth time so far this trip, on the ship I spent about half a year getting the credits needed to even buy and license it as an F.O.T.C ship, Scout Ship "Ray of Hope".

This ship is actually the last hope we have before the Hive finds out there sitting on an information gold mine. No pressure.

I'm getting ahead of myself and also sorry about the intro without any clarity, I'm Wolf, just as a formality in case you haven't read my other journal entries. One thing you should know about me is that ever since I was an only child in a broken family, before the planet was glassed, I've been a bit of a loner. I didn't get along well with others because I never gotten the courage that other people had to make friends and keep them. During the Golden Age, my father abandoned my mother before I was even born. My mother took care of me when she wasn't scraping by on money from her "friends". She also spoke very little to me my entire life even when The Collapse started. She silently led me away from our home but left me to die the second I complained about leaving home.

I was killed in the fire that glassed the world. I never stood a chance. Death came swiftly but with a jolt of pain throughout my entire body. I still don't know how long i was dead, the best estimate I got was two centuries. But I was revived by my Ghost. Pain erupted my entire body, which was now covered in scrap metal and tattered rags. I've been sore before, so I learned to slowly move each limb.

That's when I heard the howl.

"Guardian, I need you up. You've been dead for a long time, and your gonna see things you wont understand" It calmed me down.

I followed it, crouching and holding my breath under destroyed buildings as aliens patrolled by. About four hours later, after Ghost found me a revolver or "Hand Cannon" as Ghost called the weapon, it led me to a crashed ship I've possibly seen before.

"Pre-Collapse, but the Fallen might've stripped it clean." Ghost left my side and hovered around the ship, scanning it.

"Will it fly?" I asked, frightened and having an iron grip on my gun.

"I can make it work." He happily replied.

I met the Vanguards at the Tower, and they were skeptical of my age, of course. But the Hunter, Rick, took me under his wing and treated me like a son. Once the adrenaline of the adventure wore off, I went into shock, fell into depression, and tried to shut everyone out.

The only people I consider my friends are a badass bad-mouthed Titan, Brick, a man who if you said anything insulting to him, you might want to buy the floor dinner first before you start kissing it. And Spark, an arrogant, selfish young woman who I have grown to respect, and I am not saying that because she reads my journal when I'm sleeping, but I think she is a damn good sniper. Anyway, I met Brick during the Tournament of Legends.

The Tournament of Legends is a one versus one, 32 man per class tourney that happens once every six months, this one I just so happened to have been signed up for, and by that I mean Rick pulled a couple strings to _make_ me join since I was bothering the Vanguard's about anything needing to be done, so I was preoccupied for a couple months.

It was the qualifier for the semi-finals for the tournament and it just so happened to be me against a Titan, and if you're smart, you guessed it was Brick.

Bravo, you're right because I never encountered a Titan as scary as Brick. He was 6'9", obviously a heavy build, and a heavy fighting style, as all Titans have.

We entered a Roman like arena center, but this wasn't flat land and sand. Hills rose high enough but too far to jump into the crowd, trees gave great climbing escape plans just in case everything went south. We were set about five hundred feet apart, enough for a lucky sniper shot (All rounds triple-checked to make sure they were stun rounds) but the vegetation would give him cover.

The crowd roared for us, for him, because he had heavier weapons, stronger armor, and a flawless record. (Mine being borderline suicide candidate) but at least I saw Rick in the Vanguard's personal "Clubhouse, no girls allowed!" I called when I was a child, smiling and clapping for me.

I smiled back and let my guard down for a second before the horn sounded to start, and bullets pierced every tree within a ten foot radius of me.

I pushed to my left towards the largest hill in hopes I can flank and have high ground. I know he didn't see me run because bullets still rained the spot I started in.

Only if I knew that everyone who fought before me had the same idea, because once the bullet storm stopped and not even a minute later I reached the top of the hill, I was face-to-chest with him.

He threw his gun to the side and pulled his fists up to his chest, and near my face.

"Bring it on, runt" He grumbled.

So I sealed my double-shot sniper to me back, and assumed a hand-to-hand stance I learned as a priority of Hunters, the Defensive. Focusing on making you a smaller target and giving you room to dodge, counter, and deflect blows. I put my left foot ahead of my right and faced my chest to my right, and held my fists up. I can lean back or forth to dodge an attack to my helmet-less face, and use my fists as shields. I knew that training was about to pay off.

I saw his face grow a quizzical expression, and then he knew exactly what to do.

He threw both hands forward with all his strength, and pushed me down the hill.

I passed out halfway down thanks to well-placed cragged rocks, and I woke up with a split forehead, a concussion, and 6th place.

Also a note from Rick saying: "Fastest, most funniest fight I have ever seen. Now hurry up and heal, we miss our golden little retriever."

He would joke about my childhood pet… I never had the heart to tell him I still missed him.

About a couple months after Brick, I met a Hunter like me, but might have different reproductive organs (Might…), and kills on different guidelines… I kill to preserve human life since we're going extinct, she hates everyone. I could become friend with people if given a chance, she hates everyone. I show respect where it's due, she hates… well, you get the point.

-P.S Spark, please don't hurt me in my sleep again

Spark and I met as children but when you put two depressed and detached children in the same room, you get an awkward silence as the children's guardians try to coax them out of their shells. We didn't see nor speak to each other for over a dozen years and then we were reunited on a, rather strange circumstance. After a heavy night of drinking with Brick after figuring out his real name was John, we passed the prettiest drunk Hunter we've seen that night and I might have in a drunken slur said something along the lines of;

"Yah think you some hot stuff? I mean yah are, but are you as good as yah say you are?"

I woke up in a different house than mine or Bricks, and a woman by my side. Turns out when you hate everyone and everything but your sniper, you're a Hunter, and you also drink more than you should, you want to bang the first hammered Hunter you see, am I not the luckiest man in the world?

Nope. That is wrong on about 4 levels, which is about how high up we were in her apartment building.

I woke up the same way everyone who gets shit faced does, tired, head wanting to explode, and the barrel of a gun to my head.

Or is that just what happens to me?

"Get up" She ordered, wearing a type of robe people use to train hand-to-hand combat in, so I did.

"Okay…" I put my hands up as I stood to face her with boxers as the only protection I have from a .50 caliber bullet.

"Walk to the door" She pointed with her free hand, so I did.

"Can I just have my clothes?" I asked, hands still raised, I pointed with my hands still raised to a pile of clothes that I recognized from a random grab into my closet the day before.

She nodded and tossed me my clothes, gun still pointed at me, one article of clothing at a time.

"I swear this doesn't happen often, I don't sleep around and I don't have any diseases." I started before her bare foot hit just under my knee, luckily she was in training and I had pants on to absorb 0.01% of the blow.

"Yes you do, sleep around that is, every Hunter has heard of you. You give us a bad name with your exploitation our title, reputation, and privileges as Guardians. I also don't care if the Council keeps you since you're so stupid you'll do whatever mission they give you, and the only good thing about you is that you and your fucking Titan friend survive!" she sneered as I put on my shirt, then she kicked me out of her own window.

I free fell for about four seconds.

In that time, it felt like I could hand craft a sniper, bake a cake, lie to people and say its chocolate when in fact it's vanilla, (Another drunk mishap, I tried to hook up with a hot Warlock cooking assistant that time)and land on my feet.

In reality, I had enough time to do the last on my falling bucket list.

I landed on my feet but collapsed, then raising my hands to protect my head from injury.

In the end, everything hurt but my face, thankfully.

I waited for about 4 hours for her to come down so I can apologize, and when she did, she punched me where the ground didn't, and we've been friends ever since. Sort of, besides the fact that if I tell anyone, (Tell, not write down and have someone steal this file and read it, like you most likely did…) what happened that night before the doctor remembered my name in case I needed to be reported for unlawful conduct, she'd have my head on the ship as a hood ornament.

-P.P.S Yet again, Spark, Please don't hurt me in my sleep… Or turn off the lights because you know I prefer to sleep in the light for reasons that require me to act like I'm always on a need-to-know basis

Brick walked into the cockpit and sat beside me, checking fuel, energy, and air. Making sure we have enough for a ride to our certain deaths and back in perfect condition. He sighed with frustrated exhaustion and assumed the same lazy position I was in, his blonde hair covering me from seeing his angry and/or bored eyes.

"Damn it…" he mumbled quietly to either himself or to me as if cursing a big mistake I regularly make with fuel conservation.

"What?" I asked, wondering what big bad Brick could be cursing when he and I both know that we have survived just about everything.

"The Hive… The Moon… Us… I don't exactly have a death wish, but I do know I don't want to die by these _things_."

So maybe not everything just yet "How do you want to die?" I asked, seriously wondering what could kill this guy, I mean he has Spark and I, so if anything he'll walk out of this alive.

"Fuck man, I don't know!" He sat up and pressed both fist into his face, which is what he does when he's angry or thinking, or both. "Do we have a chance? Am I the only one thinking about if this is our last battle?"

Good question, I didn't know he felt this way but I'm guessing that…

"We all are, Brick. We've had close calls before but those missions were months before we met Spark, now that we have the two best Hunters and the strongest Titan, we'll be fine." I answered truthfully before asking him, "Do you even know what happened there?"

I pulled out my holo-book and opened an article with the I.D's of everyone on staff there, the layout, and the times of everyone's work days, and the exact time everything happened, "Cameras on the inside recorded the Hive being anywhere and everywhere before they can even activate 'Plan C', the attack began about an hour and seventeen minutes before everyone requiring to be awake, we also had no communication on any emergency frequency with the station about twelve minutes after the SOS was sent out which was around a minute after the attack, lost all camera feed twenty minutes later. They're no reported survivors and everyone is thought to be dead the second the feed was dropped. We can't even remotely trigger the first thing you do when a high priority base is under attack! Now how much of a chance do you think we have?"

"Fuck you." He stood up and left me alone to fly us to our certain deaths.

Well when he puts it that way, I feel better knowing exactly when I'm going to die, instead of wondering like some kind of philosophical asshole. I reached to the controls and sped up the engine, if Brick cursed the amount of fuel we had, then were about to be losing more at the cost of being closer to our already imminent deaths. I was about to leave to and lay on a dead mans bed, but Spark blocked the way, being prepared with her armor on and holding her helmet at the curve of her hip.

"Really, Wolf!? You told him that?"

"What?" I asked, her curt attitude toward me reminding me how I messed up with talking to Brick.

"Do you really think we're going to die? Two of the greatest hunters and the most badass Titan we'll ever meet, one of those Hunters and the Titan been on more suicide missions then both of them can count if they weren't wearing armor, had sandals on, and those two were naked, against an army of asexual infesting zombies?" She pushed my left shoulder back in disgust of filling the bravest of us with fear. "Because if you think we can't do this now, before the Hive spread throughout the _entire_ moon, then no one can or will, ever… Period"

"And? What should have I said to him?" I shrugged, giving away my expression and the feeling of knowing we might die giving away.

"Tell him those parasites don't stand a fucking chance against us, not that we don't have one like you just said!" She turned around and walked away with a sharp "Good bye", actually she said "Screw you", but I got the message.

But fuck… Well now I feel like shit.

"Systems check is complete, Wolf! Just give me the word and I'll do another!" Ghost gloated as he flew into the cockpit with artificial robotic glee.

"Thanks, Ghost." I said glumly, I caught him as he flew by my side and he shut down at my touch, I then attached him to my hip.

Anything to have less happiness in this room.


	4. Chapter 2: Nathan Wolf Freeze

_**"That shiver you feel up your spine is truth. There are nightmares rising from the shadows, and they hunger for our dying hope."**_

_**-The Hive Grimoire Card**_

Chapter 2

Some type of Crash Landing

126 Minutes until Hive discovers the Data

Our landing was less than perfect, and soft, in fact it wasn't even a landing. I mean, it was more of a crash landing, which I've experienced on a number of different missions. Luckily before we were shot down we were already prepared for something like this, having our Dura-steel armor on, two weapons magnetically attached to our backs, and a pistol on our thigh.

How we crashed, was a different story.

We sat down in the most armored part of the ship, the information room. We sat around a hologram showing our altitude, time till landing, and velocity. At least we were looking at that, until every electronic thing in the ship turned off.

"E.M.P! Hang on to something!" Spark yelled, although we were prepared for this.

So I'm guessing the Hive learned how to activate the minor defense systems. Lucky us they haven't turned everything on, because we would've lost power, our wings, and maybe our autopilot, which would suck in the sense that it _was_ directing us to our drop point.

As the artificial gravity turned off, we slowly floated to something to hold onto as the last seconds of this ship pass by in nothing but the sound of creaking and the engine also sputtering its last breaths, then suddenly gravity awoke, and punished us.

The last second of our descent was better than the next.

We weren't knocked out thanks of our helmets and superior training, but we still felt the snap of suddenly stopping. I acted quickly, knowing the enemy was soon going to be upon us and finish the job.

I grabbed my revolver with little magnetic resistance and a snap that gave a small warning being disconnected from its other half could be heard as I helped Brick and Spark to the emergency airlock nearby. I pushed the release button and the airlock opened to the dark vacuum called space.

"Is everyone alright?" I spoke on a secure frequency, not taking the chance that it's _just_ the hive here.

Spark grabbed her sniper as a silent answer, _yes_.

"Yeah, did we _land_ close?" Brick asked, his heavy machine gun held close to him.

"Yeah, just a klick that way" I pointed to our left, where a small white lit up hill shone in the distance, a long flashing tower signaling an SOS.

"Does that artificial gravity go this far, wouldn't it since they were planning an expansion?" Brick wondered out loud, jumping like he would on earth, getting the same results

"Good, let's go, Double time!" The most badass person in this team led the way to the unknown. Unfazed or not caring of any patrols being sent after us.

So Brick and I followed.

Approaching the main magnetically sealed door was eerie as hell… Am I the only one who felt like when you're approaching a raid and you know the enemy is out there but you don't have a good enough vantage point (Or one at all in my current situation) to see where they are so you're looking around hoping you or your friend doesn't get shot in the back?

Or is that just me?

Maybe just the last part.

I ran up to the hard door and looked both ways to find a way to disengage the lock, to no avail. "Shit, Spark!" I called as she watched our backs. "We have to find another way in!"

"We were told there was a cave we could go through!" she yelled back.

That cave was actually a five minute hustle, but what we saw there was not good. Bones, bullet shells and blood splattered on an inactivated walls used as barriers, next to about a couple dozen puny Hives.

The Hive, while scrawny looking as a peon but is human like, acts like bees defending their hive, no relation to the name. Their skin is paste white from lack of sun from "Birth" or "Hatch" or whatever the hell it is, to now, and eyes the color of complete darkness, which scares me. Unfortunately, they also don't need oxygen or armor unlike us since each one is a dime a thousand. The ones we saw, the peons, are easy to pick off in small numbers but dozens of these vermin meant there must be a helluva lot more inside.

"Brick, Push forward through the middle. Spark, Move to the left with a pistol so we don't waste the good ammo." I ordered as I moved to the right. This formation is something I like because the enemy in the middle and side will go after Brick since there flanking him and the largest out of all of us, as Spark and I pick off the ones on the opposite side.

They ran forward, following my orders, I trailed behind them, taking longshots with my revolver. 6 bullets and I reloaded another set, 11 more until I'm out. I needed to conserve them because only a few fell by my pistol but a couple shots missed.

Brick slammed into a small rock in front of the broken walls and blindly fired his gun over it, providing suppressing fire as Spark and I slid behind two walls on opposites sides of the first broken defensive wall.

The blind fire stopped and the hive sprang out, a few higher classes with guns, the rest ran towards us like a horde of zombies. I picked off a few more this time with better results. Spark with her deadly accuracy had no issue with the fact that more were approaching.

The horde got closer and better at suppressing _us_ until I realized Brick hadn't done crap since his suppression. I looked his way to see him fixing a jammed machine gun. I combat rolled over to him, hoping a lucky plasma blast doesn't graze me.

"Damnit Brick! Worry about that later! If you don't start firing, we are going to die before we even get in there!" I yelled

He got the message by pushing me back and kicking the gun, and like that, the jamming was fixed. We would be okay for a couple more minutes, hopefully.

"Wolf, Look out!" I heard before something landed on my back.

The Hive grabbed my helmet and pulled with all its strength to rip it off and release me from the nice, helpful air I breathe every day. But I didn't want to let go just yet.

I reached back and grabbed its arms, threw it over my head, reached down and grabbed the four-inch long blade Rick gave me as a child in training, and plunged it down into the Hive and ran towards the horde in bloodlust.

The first hive went down with a satisfying _crack_ of my blade going through its skull, I spun around, relieving my blade of the hell of the Hives mind and cut into another running towards me, then a rumble around my armor sounded, a Hive gunner hit me but my electric shield absorbed the blast. I kicked the ground to jump in frustration so I was spun forward and connected my boot into a Hive gunners head.

Shots rang out as I landed, looked up to see Hive falling all around me, and a large hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back, another hand grabbing my weapon and sheathing it back into its holster.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Brick yelled into his microphone, his weapon so loud I wish it had a volume setting.

"Let me rip em' to shreds!" I tried to push forward, black spots growing on my eyes from the head rush, but his iron grip held me back.

Then a small pain on my legs and I fell to my knees, then a blunt object hit the side of my helmet, the force making me dizzy. I looked over to see Spark holding her sniper like it was 2x4 or a baseball bat, her furious face easily seen even behind a closed helmet.

"You're going to calm the fuck down! If you go on another rampage, I'll kill you myself and take your ammo!" She sneered, Bricks machine gun and her voice getting muffled as my ears and head felt like it was going to implode.

I pulled back with all my might to get away from the constant blasts of his gun. He threw me forward once he was sure I won't go on another psychopathic onslaught and I fell to the ground, dust billowing around me. A small but noticeable weight pressed on my back for a second and was taken off, I got up to my knee to look at my "friends" and saw Spark right next to me, one hand with her pistol and another holding out to help me up.

I took her hand and got to my feet, dazed with blood rushing to my head, sending another wave of nausea and head pains.

"Move forward," Brick calmly ordered a couple of seconds after his gun quieted, and I heard a sigh from him. "Wasted too much, I'm already down a clip." He unlocked his empty drum magazine and let it drop to the dust before grabbing another from his belt and loading it.

We walked in a V formation into the cave, Brick and Spark guarding the front. I clicked off my assault rifle and turned on the flashlight under the barrel.

"Close range, load up" I said, then turning to Bricks side as he dropped to a knee and grabbed his shotgun after locking his machine gun.

"Good." He reported and I turned to Spark to watch her side so she can swap to her submachine gun.

"Good." She repeated, and we fell back into position, moving forward after I reminded them to turn on their flashlights.

I like to play it safe when it comes to dark caves.

We didn't see nor hear anything until we reached an air lock lit up with bright flood lights that reached up about 25 feet. Security measures made the passcode 12-digits, and only Spark knew the code.

"Step aside, boys." She moved towards a keypad to enter it, but after the 6th _beep_, my motion tracker was littered with red dots.

"Hurry up! We got bogeys!" I yelled, 3 more _beeps_ behind me, Brick and I raising our guns.

We saw them before the next _beep_ and a lesser Hive burst out at me but got an elbow to the face, Brick then shooting it while it was down, Another 2 _beep_s.

"Come on!" I yelled as she hesitated, then the airlock slowly opened.

"No, No, No! Hurry up!" Spark yelled at the door, and joined us as we backed up against the wall.

Now it wasn't one Hive pouncing at us, now it was a group running at us.

Brick gave them a 20 gauge as Spark and I shot ones on the outside, giving Bricks shotgun blast the middle.

I tried to lean against the wall so I could know when it opened all the way and fell backwards.

"Move back! Go on!" I sat up and pulling their legs back, looking to my right and seeing a posted keypad with one button, and I pressed it about a dozen times.

The airlock realized we were inside and decided to shut faster than it opened, but that only challenged the Hive. I crawled back to avoid being crushed by the airlock and aimed my gun at the approaching Hive, and without a second thought about conservation of ammunition, I opened fired.

The airlock shut with a _Snap!_ And an announcement said "_Airlock closed, oxygen supply: Medium. Please be cautious when taking your oxygen mask off and report to your administrator about the oxygen supply.__"_

"No point asking him now, I guess," Spark joked and got me up on my feet as the large room de-pressurized and the door behind us opened to the base. We took of our helmets and she continued "Are you going to be falling over like a drunk this entire trip?"

"Shut it, Spark." Brick pushed me back but lightly moved Spark away before turning and getting in my face. "Wolf, I will not hesitate to take command of this operation if you do not stop trying to be the bad ass hero!"

I moved closer, trying to establish dominance with someone a couple inches taller and stronger than me. "Brick, back off before this gets messy. We are here to finish a mission and I will not let you nor your negative opinions of my leadership get in the way."

Who knows how long we stood like that, planted to our spots, eying each other down like rival predators. It wasn't until Spark shoved us in opposite directions that I ordered the team to move forward.

It was silent as we got in formation and continued our mission.


	5. Chapter 3: Ritz Spark Malheur

_******"The others sing this song of Light and Dark. We, together, have transcended such unimaginative limitations."**_

_******-Awoken Grimoire Card**_

**File Recovered, Moon Base Echo, Hunter Ritz ****"Spark" ****Malheur, Journal Entry #01**

Chapter 3

Can't Expect What Wasn't Expected In The First Place

102 Minutes until Hive discovers the Data

Our situation wasn't bad at the second. It was just a Fireteam having a laugh. But we had a mission, I knew it, Wolf knew it, and Brick knew it.

I really hate Wolf, but I digress. I'm guessing I should explain myself since it's my first entry and maybe my last.

My name is Ritz, but everyone calls me "Spark", and I have a reason why that is. I was born about six years before The Collapse of the Golden Age. I lived with both of my parents, a protective father named Simon who worked on finding ways to increase power capacity and production. And a nurturing mother also named Ritz. I was named after her because I was born with about the same features my mother had, the favorite of my parents being the natural white hair. I was embarrassed as a kid, being the only little one with white hair, so I asked my mom to dye it pink, she accepted but with sadness in her tone. Every morning she'd pull out the dye in tears, and I never knew why, and I may never will.

I don't like to talk about what happened to my parents, but I might as well tell their story if I'm the last one who knows about them.

My family was turned away from the city The Traveler stood over. We were going to die, and we did, side-by-side. That would've been the end, but I guess it was the beginning for me.

A small robot known as my "Ghost" brought me back to life through means beyond my comprehension. I was 6 years old when i was revived, but was only a mile away from the City. The walk back was the worst thing, my young body couldn't take the pain and the mile trek back to a safe area. Once i was spotted by the guards on top of the Wall, I was taken and transported to the Vanguards. The Warlock of the three took pity on me and adopted me. I spoke a total of three words that day, I lost my parents, why didn't my Ghost revive one of them? That question haunts me to this day.

I grew up like most people do, and Jane kept her promise to the parents of the now depressed pink haired child. I started training at the age of eight, and I became one of the greatest hand-to-hand specialists in the Hunter division, one of the three classes of Guardians, those who have been given power from The Traveler, a metal sphere who saved the human race from extinction.

It's complicated…

I never trusted anyone else after Jane brought me in, even after that, we started to see each other less and less once I started my training. But that doesn't matter to her that we drifted away because she still took care of me. I was given the treatment of a leader, highest hospital priority, free meals, choice of apartment, and a long list of people to choose from to be in a fire team with me.

Who knew Drunk Ritz would find the second best Hunter in need of someone in his fire team, but my only wish now is that Drunk Ritz didn't sleep with him.

I woke up with a splitting headache, only underwear on, and a man in bed with me.

Hungover Ritz doesn't like that.

I quietly got out of bed, trying not to wake the stupidest suicidal man whore in _my_ bed. I slipped on my training robes and grabbed the .50 magnum on my dresser. I then walked over to him, and put the barrel against his head.

That woke him up real good.

"Get up" I kept the gun on him as he followed my orders.

"Okay," He got up, hands raised in defeat, which looked foolish since he only had boxers on.

"Walk to the door," I motioned to the door with my gun, but he didn't move. Instead, he asked me something I forgot.

"Can I just have my clothes?" He pointed to the pile I haven't seen before, so I nodded to give him some dignity.

One piece of clothing at a time, of course starting with pants, socks, and then he caught his shirt as he defended his drunk-self.

"I swear this doesn't happen often, I don't sleep around and I don't have any diseases." He got a foot to the ankle before I sneered at him for being a disgrace to Hunters.

"Yes you do, sleep around that is, every Hunter has heard of you. You give us a bad name with your exploitation our title, reputation, and privileges as Guardians. I also don't care if the Vanguard keeps you since you're so stupid you'll do whatever mission they give you, and the only good thing about you is that you and your fucking Titan friend survive!" I kicked his gut with all my strength, forgetting that he was facing away from an open window. He flew out, and suddenly I felt contempt.

I spent the next four hours cleaning his mess up, and completing my daily routine by re-dyeing my hair, brushing teeth, and other stuff that everyone does.

I was about to leave to go practice but that asshole was waiting for me on the street, his shirt and pants muddy. He flinched as I walked towards him in hopes I don't kick him out some other window somehow.

"Sorry," Was all he said. And that was okay, because if he said anymore I wouldn't have asked to join him.

He was dumbstruck before and even after I socked him in the face, after what I just did out of anger, I would then ask him to join?

What else was he going to say? I _am_ the best.

We moved forward, keeping formation. Wolf watching our backs as Brick and I watched our sides and the front. We saw no other signs of the Hive save for bodies of scientists, we didn't see husks of dead hive or the pods in which they are born in.

"Pretty eerie" I commented, constantly checking my motion tracker, and the corridor didn't end until we walked out of a cave and into the observation deck room of the station, Hive pods and their signature bee hive like husks coverings on the walls.

We walked towards the center of the room, watching every direction now. Fearful for what could come.

That's when my motion tracker exploded with red.

Hive dropped from the ceiling, the second floor and the other caves on our level. We were out numbered about 30 to one, the only upside was that none of these were the ones who handled guns.

We didn't flinch, we couldn't, flinching meant fear and we can't afford to be scared. Brick pushed forward towards a large group, jumped up and raised his fists which left a glowing purple trail only to smash the ground in front of the group and releasing a small shockwave that had so much force that the group died before they hit the ground, it's called "Fist of Havoc" for a good reason.

Wolf reached to his hip and pulled out his little robot and gave it an order.

"Ghost, we need a direct route to the security terminal! Don't get spotted and come back with specific directions." He let the robot go and it flew in a direction that most likely corresponds with the blueprints of the base.

"Cheerful Places, everywhere we go!" Ghost yelled as he dodged the dropping Hive.

Now it's my turn to deal some damage. Go hard or go home is what I like to call what I did. I equipped my Magnum and raised my arm into the air, orange glow being sucked into the gun, and suddenly my small weapon resonated with a golden light.

But my gun and my arm became engulfed in fire that thankfully didn't radiate onto my skin. This is what is called "Golden Gun"; now my bullets were about as hot as magma and resonated heat so violent that even touching the bullet could set you ablaze.

Luckily the fire alarms needed the main power generator since once I started firing at the Hive, suddenly there was a bonfire. It looked like we would be okay, Wolf kept all who came close to us back thanks to his holographic blade, Brick with his shotgun and the occasional ground pound, and I made the Hive suffer by fire. But it was gruesome, why? I've been through worse firefights with more menacing freaks. But these, _things_, looked human. They screamed, loudly and seemingly with feeling. I couldn't help but think about my parents when they walked away from me.

The planet burned, the ones who were turned away by the City burned, my parents. My _parents_ burned along with the rest of the earth. I couldn't get the thought out of my head. My parents are now dust. Was their death fast or did they slowly and painfully, losing inch by inch of skin and muscle and hair until their bodies went into shock and finally rest came by passing out?

I closed my eyes to stop and hide tears, even if my helmet hid my face, something was getting it wet. Whether it be tears, sweat, or blood, I didn't care at all but I didn't stop pulling the trigger even when I heard the _click_ of the magnum being empty, and I didn't even think about reloading or moving a step until my father saved me.

_Wolf_ saved me.

A Hive pounced and started to drag me away, at least it was until a knife punctured its throat. I escaped its grip and rushed forward towards my dad and grabbed him for dear life. My father then turned to shoot the hive, to protect me.

No, it was Wolf! He was saving me, the man I constantly bully, insult and beat down. I am the best Hunter anyone may ever know, _will_ ever know, being saved by the second best? I'm breaking down, why is stubborn Ritz crying over burning Hive?

Wolf, he won't fall to pieces on us when our lives are on the line. He never let us down, even that one time the Fallen took me captive in a remote camp about a couple hundred miles away from the city, Wolf _saved_ me even after all the terrible things I've done to him.

Now I see what he really is, what no one else saw because he never wanted to trust anyone, never wanted to admit what he does is for the people who never shown him compassion or respect. Rick once told me he was always nervous in an obvious way while he was growing up. That he stuttered and mumbled hoping someone would hear and acknowledge his existence. That as a child he would wake up screaming and crying, nightmares of his mother's anger, of the only human contact he's ever had as a child that spoke to him with feeling. He was denied everything a normal child needed, and that destroyed him too much on the inside. I don't know if he even wants to ever speak about what happened to him the last week before The Collapse, because if he does, he doesn't want to talk to _me_ about that.

I try not to bring up topics Wolf doesn't like.

But most of all, he isn't some suicidal maniac who goes on risky missions, people don't see that he really is just a guy who is just doing what others would die doing. He isn't an immature asshole who would bang anything that has two legs and is female, but it's just that he just found a way to cope with being a servant of war. Wolf is the best Hunter, so what made me think _I_ was the best? What he does on a daily basis, what he has been through, I can't live with that, but he can. I would never fight for anyone other than myself and Jane, until I met Wolf. I would have never been friends with the best Hunter and Titan ever, until I met Wolf.

I have only let Wolf see me cry once and I might as well tell the story since you've got this far without me hunting you down.

It was about a couple of years ago. I ran out of pink dye and my usual supplier didn't have anything to even make the dye. He told me that the place he scavenges for paints and dyes, including mine, was just seen with a couple dozens of the Fallen, other human like beings but most had with four arms.

I ran home and choked on grief. I didn't see Wolf walk in, but as it turns out, Wolf called me a couple times before he ran three miles to find my door unlocked. I turned away from him in case any rebellious tears came.

"Spark, I got you something." He calmly offered something to me, I looked at him and he held a full, familiar small bottle of thick liquid. I small shred of white hair fall in front of my eyes and I realized he noticed that I've been using less to conserve.

I walked towards my dining room table and set up what he needed to dye it. I said nothing while I was moving things around, but he did.

"You left your door unlocked, and I was going to tell you I'm going to where you get your dye, but he told me – well, he must've told you" I nodded as he continued. "It wasn't that far away, luckily I was supposed to clear out the town the store was in anyway. I got my helmet ripped open and they got a good hit on me." He turned his head and a long, dry, dark red cut going from under his right ear and going to the side of his chin made me stop in my tracks for a second.

_He got injured for me?_

"T-thanks…" I stuttered, which I haven't done since I was a child. I sat down, spread out my hair, and gave him silence.

"Rick and Jane are getting cozy," He laughed, both of us knowing how our _parents_ treat each other. "Jane was more worried than Rick when I reported the Fallen being driven out from the town, the first thing they saw was the cut." I nodded, on the verge of tears.

My mother tried to make small talk while she dyed my hair, trying to get her mind away from whatever it was that made her cry.

"Do they know h-how we met?" I hit myself mentally for stuttering, Wolf can easily read feelings by voice thanks to most of our time spent together are inside helmets.

"They can speculate, but unless you've told them, then no." He stopped, and he leaned forward and saw my eyes with tears that also rolled down my cheek. "It's okay, I'll be done soon. I'll leave afterwards if you want." He went back to work.

Should I let him stay? He helped me out more times today than I have to him these past months. But if he stays, what if he gets the idea that I _want_ him?

"When you're done," I choked on my answer but continued, "Go home and grab your blankets, your sleeping on the couch tonight."

He gave a small laugh, and let my hair fall down, I just now starting to hear musical notes from his hand as he quickly dried the dye.

"Good, because I was about to spend the night on the porch if you said 'go home', and by the way, I think your natural hair looks amazing."

"Are you okay?" A voice asked, I looked up to remember that it was the Hive who ripped my helmet off and he sat me down to give first aid. He reached back and a golden light, calm and quiet, became transparent and sat in his hand. He wiped my bloody pink hair back and held that light to the source of the viscous liquid.

"Are _we_ okay?" I let go a small awkward laugh to hide the fact I was crying, but Wolf wasn't fazed, he knew about my parents somehow, he knew that thought was in my head, so I could only sit and wait for Wolf to finish.

"Yes, the Hive pulled back. Tilt your head," He lit up behind my ear, I could hear musical notes from the glow playing and the tune in touch with how Wolf felt. I looked over to Brick and saw he was the only one with a helmet on. He stared at me until we locked gazes, he darted his head towards the tunnels on the lookout.

I kept my eyes down then in embarrassment because I broke down in the middle of a firefight, a time when the team needs me the most. I'm supposed to be the one who steps up and takes charge when that happens to _anyone_ else!

"Alright," Wolf held my chin with his index finger and thumb, and raised it so he can look at me. "You had some gashes near your ear, can you hear me clearly?"

I nodded sadly, wanting to put my helmet back on and become the Spark they know and fight beside.

"Ritz," He whispered, catching me by surprise for the first time since we've met. "It's okay, we are on the moon, these are not human, and I'm here." He wrapped me with his arms.

"Wolf, I want to go home, I don't want to be the one who saves the world." I reached for my helmet, but he put a hand on it to stop me.

"I need you, Ritz, more than you know. Please go with us so Brick doesn't do this to me." He smiled and lifted my helmet over my head and put it on.

Besides the slits of the visor, darkness enclosed me until the helmet sucked my pink hair into a small pocket to hold out of my way then it locked onto my armor and power surged through it, my HUD shot on and system booted on. I looked on glumly past the words to look at Wolf give orders to Brick.

"Report" Wolf let go of the gold glow, it dissolving unto his hand. He turned to face us as Brick and I reloaded.

"Down a couple dozen slugs, fine on everything else" Brick motioned behind Wolf, and we all turned to see an annoying little robot.

Ghost flew into the room and happily said, "This way!"

So we followed.


	6. Chapter 4: Ritz Spark Malheur

**_"…Yet I fear the moon's jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.  
Holding tight my midnight shadow, I would not leave the human world..."_**

**_-Poem Excerpt, 蘇軾, Chinese poet, Song Dynasty, Old Earth_**

Chapter 4

I'm Not a Born Leader, But a Tough Act to Follow

76 Minutes until Hive discovers the Data and we're screwed

We walked through a dark, cramped, bored opened cave, unable to stand in a V-formation. Wolf chatted with lit up and expanded Ghost to pass the time. Brick looked around with a flashlight on his helmet turned on, and I watched our backs. I wish I knew what the others were thinking, at least what Wolf was. I could only guess that he would bring this up another time, if we live through this. Brick on the other hand would keep his thoughts to himself about what he saw until it is brought up by either Wolf or I.

Brick and I eavesdropped on Wolf and Ghosts conversation about what he saw.

"Oh it was terrible, Wolf!" He started with a strange British-like accent. "The blueprints were spot on, but these, _things_, made so many caves to speed up the transportation of units! Isn't that absurd? We already did that, we made our residential close to the medical, armory, and mess hall for a reason!"

Wolf laughed to himself about how much Ghost loves perfect blueprints, and how much he hates un-official and artificial hallways. "But yet the circumference of the base is about a couple miles long? They put all of those areas a three or four miles away from the main entrance! That's a design flaw in my book."

"No Wolf! That was purposely made to make room for hangars, expansions of residential, oxygen recycler, and the morgue!" Ghost argued in the funniest way, anger and annoyance from an A.I robot no larger than a human head is surprisingly funny, even under the circumstances.

"Whatever, how far are we from the primary security terminal?"

"As long as we don't encounter any more of those strange beasts, my best calculation would be about," It took him half a second to compute our average walking speed, the distance to the objective, and anything else he hasn't told us about. "22 minutes, but I doubt we're '_out of the frying pan_' as I've heard some people say in situations like this."

It wasn't hard to tell Wolf challenged that time, since he ordered us to double time it forward.

A short run later, we walked into a long hallway lit up enough to see the end, and what we saw could be described as beautiful on one side, and frightening on the other. To the left of the hallway was glass showing the Hell Mouths ominous glow of dim lights and the blue and yellowish-green wasteland that I call my home complimented in the sky. But across from the hallway, stood a horde of patrolling Hive, led by ones evolved enough to use guns.

"Aw fuck..." Wolf groaned before the Hive howled in victory of finding us, and not a second later did Ghost return to his original form and flew to Wolf for aid, which powered him down and attached back to his hip. Brick walked forward as the horde approached with his light machine gun in hand, he turned his head to look at us.

"Have I ever told you why I called this gun 'Lightning Strike'?" He looked forward dramatically and aimed at the incoming hostiles. "It's because I don't need to fire at the same enemy twice."

He held down the trigger and swept the gun side to side to get as many hits in as he can. The affected Hive looked like they were struck by a couple stun guns and was burned inside-out. Wolf and I pulled out our pistols, I held mine with both hands so I don't miss, but Wolf had a different idea. He grabbed a familiar .50 caliber Magnum in his right hand, but reached down to his thigh to hold his signature knife in a way that showed heads would roll, only then did he run forward.

This is absolute proof that Wolf is better than me if you're not convinced. I held back taking shots at stragglers next to Brick, while Wolf ran forward yet again into the fray. He jumped onto the first one unlucky enough to get in his path and stomped his foot down on its arm carrying a weapon, and then thrusting his blade down into the head of his victim. He backed up to relinquish his blade and compose himself, raising his small but menacing weapon to give the attackers a large hole in their skulls. A Hive ran past its dead comrades and lunged at Wolf, but not before the tip of a blade lodged into its neck. He threw the newly be-dead towards the approaching so he had time to reach to his hip and toss a device I forgot he loaded up.

A small explosion erupted, sending an unfortunate being to its maker, and then flames erupted out of that, making a burn pile. Wolf started walking backwards with his knife at the ready for what I thought was his challenge to anyone stupid enough to further test their might against him. I looked beyond the fire and flames to see why he started to fall back.

A tall, gray, regal looking creature floated towards us, and in its hand was the glowing color of a Warlocks Nova Bomb, it's like the Fists of Havoc, but it's thrown forward towards the target. The creature floated above the burning ashes and brought its arm back, preparing to throw the glow.

"Move, Nova Bomb!" I yelled, rolling to my right to dodge the attack I never trained to defend against. Luckily (if I had any luck then it's surely gone now) the guys also got away from ground zero of the blast, we then focused fire on the new hostile. A blue ripple surrounded the target forming a protective shield, and slowly moved towards us. At least until a brick sized object flew towards the approaching hostile, and mesmerized through the shield.

Something I should've realized by now is that Brick just threw a large explosive object, and turned around running. Wolf picked me up by my waist and threw/ran back, carrying me away from the destruction just destined to be.

And to be it was.

Brick and Wolf fell down from the force of the explosion, I took the brunt of Wolfs fall because he landed on me, but no sound was heard. My breath stilled as oxygen seemed to get ripped out, to make things worse, I didn't know if the cold rushing through my body was the below freezing temperature of space, or death slowly taking me. A _beep-_beep sounded and a blue line floated over my visor like radar on a submarine, then I breathed in again, gasping to refresh my freezing cold body. But for a reason I couldn't comprehend at that moment we started to drift _up_.

"Well, that was a bit excessive." Wolf commented with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He flipped himself to face me and pushed against the floor to catch and correct my ascent. He grabbed my hip lightly and twisted so I faced towards the random act of vandalism we just made.

"You're telling' me, where did the Hive go?" We looked out of a heavily cracked window to see small figures flying away, so we laughed.

"I think that we, and the sanitation workers that have to clean this place up, can thank god that the vacuum of space just saved a lot of work!" Brick motioned to his boot, and reached down to flick a switch on it. Suddenly, his boots turned into a steering mechanism as he turned himself using small thrusters and moved forward slowly. Wolf and I followed his instructions, and thought _go_ and I moved forward.

Wolf reached back and booted up Ghost, who looked around and processed what just happened and compared it to the blueprints _just_ to make sure this was a casualty of war and not some accidental design flaw.

"No need to alarm you, Wolf, but there seems to be a giant hole in the window, looking over Hells Mouth." He slowly assessed what happened through the recording of the engagement through Wolf's point of view, which I would have paid anything to see.

"Ghost," Wolf said in a tone a father would use to explain to his child something that might be beyond their comprehension, but needs to get a point across, like speaking up when fathers talking to a police officer who pulled him over. "If anyone asks, the floating, _thing_, did that. We are behind schedule, behind enemy lines, and we don't have a planned escape route after we execute 'Plan C'"

"Understood" The child in the back seat replied and started to erase any recording of the previous fight as per Wolf's protocol, the Vanguard will get our report on the Hive and broadcast the news when the time is right.

Moving around in zero-g is sort of nauseating if you spent the last hour constantly walking and controlling movement was as troubling as it was dizzying, along with dodging debris of steel, glass and pipes became a chore as the team and I slowly hovered towards a door shut for emergency airlock, and as we approached the door where a touchpad waited for me to press the button to release the lock, I discussed what we needed to do.

"When this door opens, we need to hurry up, not get sucked out like the Hive did, and shut that door before the base loses anymore oxygen then we need." I put in a low-security three digit code, waiting for the cue that everyone was ready, a finger hovering over the _open_ option. "Ready"

"Ready." Wolf held onto the frame of the door to the right of me, positioned to grab my arm and throw ourselves in, Ghost will have no trouble following us for he magnetized himself to Wolf's hip.

"I'm ready." Brick mirrored Wolf, grabbing my free arm tight. The silent plan was to have me open the airlock, Wolf will grab my right arm but Brick will throw me through the door frame where I'll hang onto anything I can, grab Wolfs hand so he can get through, then we both pull Brick in.

Easier said than done, because when I pressed the button, I was thrown back so fast that Wolf didn't have any time to catch me, thankfully Brick held on tight. The force of the air being sucked out of the airlock was intense, but Bricks strength is unmatched. He threw me up fast, and I caught Wolf's arm. The boys nodded to each other and together, tossed me into the opening. I crashed down and held onto a fortunate and coincidental handle on the wall. I reached my hand down and I felt Wolf take it.

I looked over to see Brick grabbing Wolf, and then looking at me, nodded, and said go. Wolf was pulled up and I guided him towards the handle on the wall opposite of me.

The base was losing more oxygen then we can afford, we _needed_ to hurry this up if we wanted to breathe the good kind of recycled air. Wolf and I then reached down and quickly grabbed Brick, and with all of our might we pulled him up and I threw him over to Wolf's side.

"Shut it, quick!" Wolf yelled, hanging onto the handle with one hand, and Brick with the other, who was trying to steady himself by planting his foot into indentation on the wall.

I reached towards a pad near me and I slammed my fist where it said _close_, and finally, gravity and oxygen was restored with the _slam_ of an airlock. Wolf and I steadied ourselves with the handle and the wall once gravity turned on, Brick, on the other hand, fell about a couple feet to the ground and we could hear his panting and post near death wishes.

"Uh, Lord? I didn't train to float in space," He stood up and looked onward to where we had to go. "Please don't tell me I have to do something like that ever again."

I was about to laugh but I accidently bumped into the pad and the doors slowly slid open, us being sucked back with just a bit less force then it was before. Wolf luckily never let go of his handle but I, of course on the other hand, quickly reversed that once I started to fall backwards toward the air lock, fortunately, I got the perfect view of Brick falling onto his ass.

"Amen." He said, annoyingly.


	7. Chapter 5: Ritz Spark Malheur

_**"The shadows have claws."**_

_**-Thrall Grimoire Card**_

Chapter 5

Just Something for the Road

51 Minutes until Hive discovers the Data and of trying not to die

We moved in perfect formation as Ghost directed us through long hallways, narrow staircases, and abandoned facilities. I tried not to imagine a normal work day here, for that would remind me that they're possibly mutilated corpses or piles of bones that Wolf warned me to not look at. The Hive wasn't a problem for now, but more of a nuisance, the occasional runt feeding on the scraps left here was dispatched without a second thought as we passed by.

"Residential" Brick read as we approached a locked door.

"Isn't it weird that we only seen about just under a hundred since we got here? With the size of the base and the amount of time it took us to get here and the fact that they lived here for who knows how long, that we haven't seen an army?" I asked the team abruptly as we turned a corner, about ten minutes away from the security console.

"I'd like to not think about that," Wolf replied, possibly wanting me to stop talking about there being more. "Can we just get through this section in peace?"

I moved towards the door while Wolf took my place, still watching our backs. Whatever was behind this door, be just another corridor or a pack of Thralls, is about to get a big surprise once Wolf and Brick pressed against the walls next to the door ready for me to input the code to open it.

"Let's do this." I pressed three keys then confirming it and the door slid open, Brick moving in with a shotgun in hand.

As it turns out, it was _us_ who got a big surprise. We moved in to a large section that sort of copied a prisons interior, but with less iron bars. But near the middle of the clearing of the ground level was a large and irregular muscularly figure ripping bodies apart to get the center. It was occupied with eating until it heard the door open and our footsteps. Its head snapped up and looked towards the source of this strange noise, its forehead bloated with red lumps but we could see the eyes and the bloody teeth, I quickly noted that it stood about two or three feet over me when it was on all fours, but was interrupted from it charging at us.

"Move, now!" I yelled, pushing the boys in opposite directions, and I rolled towards Wolf's side. A _slam!_ was made not a second later, and I turned to see the beast on all fours, shaking it's head after making a large dent in the wall.

It got up on its feet and turned towards me, then raising its fists with a half-sepia half-purple copycat glow of the _Fists of Havoc_. I reacted quickly by rolling back to my feet and jumping to the side to try to get away from the force of the pounding. I wasn't that lucky. Before I could start to run away I was blasted towards metal stairs where my stomach met a support beam. I collapsed to the floor as I felt every bit of the impact. My stomach ached, my lungs calling and begging for an oxygen resupply, everything on my torso was in pain and wanted me to stop and assess the damage that has been done.

_Damage report, Captain, how is she? Sorry ma__'__am, systems in check but we have suffered from internal breakings, should we order a retreat? No, give me a second to personally check the damage._

I struggled to regain my composure as I tried using my elbow to support me, in the background I heard weapons firing, bangs and crashes, and a _snap!_ As suddenly my chest exploded in pain. I howled and slammed my fist down, my automatic autopsy said that I must've broken my ribs, even though most of my armor protects the head and torso, the force of me flying into the pole made my armor close to useless. Why did I change the chest piece?

"Oh fuck, Spark!" I heard Wolf yell, I struggled to look up as he ran to slide on his knees towards me. I could see that Brick stood on top of the thrashing beast like a bull in a rodeo, firing his weapon into its head, there was no doubt in my mind that these were the last seconds of the creatures life.

Wolf ripped my helmet off and tore off my almost completely bent chest plate, then the clothing under it so he can try anything in his power to heal what's been broken. He took off his helmet to get a better view of the injured area, I had to see if I looked at least _decent_ since I laid exposed in front of Wolf, so I looked down towards my stomach and saw a large purple bruise leading from the left side of my chest down to the right side of my hip.

"Shit," I mumbled, laying my head back in thought about the number of things that could be wrong, internal bleeding, broken bones, and ruptured organs.

"I-I'll see what I could do" Wolf stuttered, nervousness so obvious I wish I had enough energy to laugh, or at least smile. He brought back the golden light and swept it over the bruise as I focused on the music emanating from the light. The tempo was fast, not exciting but fearful for me.

The warmth of the healing light was calming, but not overwhelming enough to quench my fear. Pain still surged through the chest like waves of a sea made of needles, holding back tears became my priority.

Brick walked over and stood over us, and reported. "The rooms are locked so nothing will get in or out of them," he knelt next to us, not worried about any enemies catching us by surprise, and took off his helmet. Blonde hair swept just over his eyes which happened to hide fear and anger behind darting eyes. "Is she alright, what happened?"

"Ghost," Wolf tossed up his little companion, hovering at the peak of its ascent. "Status report, I did what I could do with the time we have, tell me what can't be – fixed – as of this moment." He did another slow swipe over the bruise, pain still made me weak.

"Spark is injured? I must say I am surprised." Ghost whispered to himself before landing on Wolf's hand that held the glow to analyze what's wrong. "Three broken ribs, minor internal bleeding -that you've luckily healed - your lungs were almost ruptured from the broken bones. Wolf," Ghost flew up and faced his master. "She is in no condition to continue. If you go against that and take her anyway she'll slow you down by 83.5%. It would take you approximately 16 minutes to reach the terminal."

Wolf nodded every now and again as Ghost spoke but I wasn't sure if he was listening or not until he grabbed my arm and threw it over his shoulder, telling Ghost that we got time. Brick offered to take point once we got our helmets on as Wolf pulled me up to my feet. I could walk without limping, but my ribs made me want to curl up and die.

We moved forward as Ghost and Brick led us to the exit. I gave Brick the code and we pressed on through _more_ dimly lit corridors. I grabbed my revolver and looked around to make myself at least a bit useful. Wolf saw what I was doing and shook his head.

"Always the one to please." He whispered, my HUD telling me that we were on a private and secure frequency, I felt him hold me a little bit tighter. A strange feeling in my chest grew that wasn't pain, but it was warm and made me feel safe.

"I can't let you and Brick down, or become a distraction." I ignored that feeling I got and tried to secretly tell him to get me off of this frequency, even though we can still hear Brick if he said something.

"Let me down and become an obstacle to the mission? That's impossible!" I heard a sarcastic laugh that suddenly gave me a now familiar feeling, this one made me want to elbow his gut.

"Why is it that I go crazy when Hive is dying, but you don't? We both know I'm the most hardened soldier here!"

"You know why…" His head snapped forward, hinting at me to change the subject, but I can't stand not knowing what makes him better than me.

"Remind me, why are you _so_ guarded with your emotions when we are in a firefight but yet an open book in the city?"

He sighed and shook his head in defeat, knowing I will not let this go unanswered. "As a child, I never had a father for he left my mother before I was born. My mother became a mess, but I guess I'm lucky enough to say she didn't fully neglect me." He gulped and I imagined him holding back tears. "I was ten years old when The Collapse happened. In those ten years, I was ignored, abused, betrayed, and insulted by my _own_ mother. That taught me at a young age how to put up walls to hide emotions, and that being weak means letting others down. Do you think I've let my father down? I've accepted that he's dead, maybe he died before The Collapse, but If heaven _is_ real, do you think he looked down on me with disappointment when my mother slammed me into a wall before I was thrown into bed after her new boyfriend came over every day at 6 P.M, disappointed that I didn't try to do _anything_ to stop her or maybe work so she doesn't have to?" His head dipped morosely, but his clear visor showed his eyes still locked forward. We still walked forward, Brick either not going to bother us or unaware we were having a secret conversation.

"No, what happened was not your fault. Wolf, you were brought into a world with a simple promise of a normal life, but your mother broke that and took her anger and sadness of your father's absence on _you_. Rick told me even after she abandoned you, before you knew for a fact you would never see her again that you were scared of Rick, of Jane, of anyone that got close to you even with the promise of no harm. He told me that you woke up screaming from nightmares and screamed even louder once Rick came to your room to try and calm you down. Your mother did this you, she made you guarded, fearful, made it so you didn't trust anyone but maybe yourself, she gave you the scars Brick and I see at the corner of our eyes when you change shirts in the armory,"

I held Wolf tighter but still walked with him as I continued. "You grew up, like everyone else but you became a man who can keep his true feelings away from the despair of war, you now know how to trust the people who will NEVER betray you. Wolf, I would bet everything I've ever had that your father is there in heaven right now smiling about how his son grew from a broken child into a grown man who will save the human race."

Wolf tilted his head up but didn't look at me, could I be getting through to him? I looked further into his visor and saw a tear form, I prepared for him either collapsing or fainting.

"Do you want to know my mother's last words to me were before I met Rick?" He continued once I nodded. "'You're just as useless as your father was before you were born…'" He gulped and I felt his body shake in anxiety. "My own _mother_…"

"I know, Wolf." I tried to calm him down, try yet again to get through another wall of emotions he put up.

"Did you know that ever since I could remember, all I wanted to do was fit in, that I pretended to be normal, happy, just to try to get friends? That I tried to take a stand against my own self to stop myself from running away and hiding?" He finally turned his head and looked into my eyes.

"No." I said softly, not wanting to provoke him or make him break down like I did during the firefight.

"If I told you what I tried to run away from, would you turn your back on me and call me unstable?"

I shook my head in protest against that.

"The anger you saw before we entered the cave, is just a sliver of what I hold back?" He gulped. "So now that I seem dangerous, are you now scared of me?"

Another shake of my head.

"My mother was a monster, but we both know that much is clear. But what you don't know is that I grew up keeping emotions behind lock and key, anger, sadness, even fear. I kept all of those to myself. Especially anger…" He shook his head and said one last thing before total silence overcame noise and he shut down the private frequency. "My father may be in heaven, and my mother may be in hell, but I have a feeling I may never meet my real father."

While we went through this base, I took mental notes for the Warlock scientists back home, in case I survive or if someone recovers this file:

* * *

**Spark****'****s Notes: The Hive**

The Hive obviously has a hierarchy like the Fallen, with stranger levels. The runts of the species, for now I'll call them "Thralls", are either not evolved like the higher ranks or have yet to learn how to use a ranged weapon since all they know how to do is hunt and eat. Thralls are easy to kill and are pawns more than anything, might be used as a distraction away from anything else.

A little higher up, are what I call "Troopers", these pests seem to be smarter and faster than their lesser counterparts. They rarely use cover and when they do, they use it poorly, either having a body part hanging out or they spend a couple more seconds then they can afford aiming at their targets. A helpful tip for these things would be to either find that uncovered limb or fire the second they show their face.

The brutes of our new enemy I'll call "Ogres". Granted I spent most of my encounter with the Ogre on the ground with broken bones, I can say for certain that these aren't something to reckon with. They have a power similar to Titans Fists of Havoc, so my advice would be to attack at a distance to its side. I hope you Warlocks don't ask anyone to bring these _things_ back alive.

The only other type of Hive we've seen so far is what I'm guessing could be the "Wizards". I'll call them that because it looked like they wear robes and if they can use the same type of magic we can, then it's obvious why I'll refer to them in that way. I hope we killed the only Wizard because it looked like it used some type of electric-field generator to protect itself from any harm from handheld weapons.

A small tip for those fighting the Wizards, explosive devices help A LOT. I haven't tried using Golden Gun, Bricks Fists of Havoc, or if Wolfs blade can get through the shield as of writing this. But you must be prepared for the worst, for this is the first time recorded that an extraterrestrial hostile used a power that the Traveler has given to man. We so far know that they have Nova Bomb, and I don't know how else they could use anything else (i.e. Golden Gun) so I now theorize that the Traveler is either not as good as we think, which is strange since he SAVED the human race from extinction, or that the higher-up (Wizards and if there's anything else not discovered) are reanimated, infected, or at most, zombie versions of Guardians.

I have an issue with the last theory, about if they are infected versions of Guardians. This is the first contact we've had with the Hive, we had no idea there was another species besides the ones on Mars, Venus, and Europa, but let alone _living_ near the core of our moon. But there wasn't any Guardians stationed, researching, or training on the Moon according to records leading back to four months ago, so how could the Hive gotten the Travelers gifts if technically this fire team was the first Guardians to "make contact" with the Hive.

Usually, Warlocks do research on the Hell Mouth, but they don't stay longer than a week. I have read the report of their early leave, saying they had an "unnatural feeling, like a cold breath on the shoulder or a chill up the spine as you approached the Hells Mouth." Some even said that "all remote communications became a gargling mess before cutting out after a certain depth, and the only frequency with any sound would be static and every now and again a mumble of a strange language was heard." That mumbling was blamed on the fact that they tried to get _any_ frequency that would be used to communicate.

Something else I don't get about the Hive is their "Wolf Pack" way of hunting us. They sent a group of Thralls led by Troopers and a Wizard as we approached the residential area, could that be the core of the Hive? Most of the people stationed here were in residential when the Hive attacked, so if my "Zombification" theory is true, then we are heading towards the eye of the storm.


	8. Chapter 6: John Brick Klinkert

_******"Stand. Not only to fight, but to strive.  
For honor. For hope.  
We bleed, we die, we defend."**_

_******-Titan Grimoire Card**_

**File Recovered, Moon Base Echo, Titan John ****"Brick" ****Klinkert, Journal Entry #02**

Chapter 6

I Tend to Leave the Two Alone

39 Minutes until Hive discovers the Data

It's been about three years since my last journal, but Wolf asked me to do one while we go just in case we don't make it. I didn't really like the way he said that but I accepted it anyway since he's been writing journals even before we met. I'm guessing you've seen his journal because everyone reads the leaders first. In case you never read/found his last journal (if he has a last one), I'm John, but I rather be called "Brick". I got that name because I used to be a bounty hunter and if people ran, I was fast enough to get in there way and block their path. Like a brick wall, see? People are creative like that.

In case you have read Wolf's journal or Spark's if she even has one, then you know I'm the type of guy to stay on the sidelines when the two are speaking. Any other time I'm more of a razor erasing any trace of stubble. But that's beside the point because I might as well tell you how I got to become a Titan and how come I got the privilege of the Travelers gifts.

I was about 13 years old when The Collapse happened, the age when you got smelly, girls got pretty, and could have enough experience to try to make it by alone in a big city. Yep, I was a runaway. I escaped from a foster home that was about to hand me over to a couple who had more rules than I can count, and I couldn't stand being told what I can and can't do, so I left. I got into a bad crowd and into equally bad situations, but I grew stronger and smarter thanks to them.

I was still scared of dying, though. So I ran away again once words got out about Earth being invaded, ran away from my crew towards the City, but I was denied entrance. No matter how much of a fight I put up, I couldn't get in.

I died at the ripe old age of 13...

I cant tell you what life after death is like, many have said that my experience is false, made up, a lie. But I can tell you how coming back to life is like. The first voice i heard was my Ghost. Imagine waking up after a long nap you took once who got home from a triathlon. My muscles were rigid and even moving my fingers shot pain through my body. It took me close to an hour to finally take a step without falling. Ghost found me a weapon and I sluggishly marched on until we found a ship that could take me to the Tower.

Once we were there, I felt like a child among adults. Everyone seemed to have either bulky armor or light armor crossed with robes, my Ghost fashioned what felt like 30 pounds of armor, exactly my size too. But the thing was, I was about 5'4" and everyone else looked like they were 6 feet or taller. I could tell people were staring, at my size and a glow that resonated from my hand. A robot directed me to the "Vanguards", who I guessed were the people who welcomed newbies. I was half-right, they're also the bosses.

I wish the Titan Vanguard was the one closest to the door, each one stopped what they were doing and stared. I had two options, stay calm and collected or ask them what they were staring at. I've been dead for centuries, this was not a good time to start problems.

I sucked in a breath, held my head high, and smoothly walked to the Titan. It felt like I was walking forever, but once I reached him I realized he didn't look so good. The Vanguard was swaying, dizzy.

"I'm John, and you are?" I asked, putting a hand on his shoulder to steady him.

"Quinton, a Titan in the Vanguard's." He wiped his face and spoke simultaneously. I looked at the human Vanguard with dozens of papers in front of him, disappointment written plainly across his face.

The strange, light blue skinned Vanguard woman stared at me with curiosity. It was kind of creepy but at the same time welcome, someone might actually care about me after being dead for what might be centuries.

Quinton dropped to a knee so we could be at eye level, which further reminded me of the age and height difference. "I'm sorry, but a couple Ghosts have been reviving those younger than we can send out to fight." The Vanguard patted me on the shoulder, "I'm sorry you were so young when the Collapse happened. But the fact that Ghosts are reviving _children_ in hostile areas, I've been in fights i should've died in, fought those who killed hundreds of Guardians before, but imagining those as young as you fighting for your life..." He used my shoulder and the table as leverage and stood to return to his work. "I'll call upon a friend that owes me a favor, he'll take you to my room. I'll find adequate living space, in the meantime, I have a offer for you,"

I stayed silent, so did the other Vanguards. Quinton was waiting for me to reply. When he saw that I was stunned by his hospitality, the Titan chuckled and finished.

"I'm a humble man, but I know that anyone would jump at the chance for me to be there mentor. I need a excuse to get out of here and fire a gun for a nice change, will you take this chance?" He stuck out his hand, and it took me a second to give my answer and firmly grip his hand.

He wasn't kidding, the other Titans envied him. What Quinton lacked in stamina he made up for with his iron grip on a gun and pin-point accuracy, making him the most dangerous man to give suppressing fire. He also kept his promise and trained me to become as deadly as him but what I realized quickly was that he even taught some of the Hunters how to react to the recoil of a sniper because he once was a Hunter. We spent twelve hours per day training five days a week, seven hours spent on weapon handling and conduct, two spent on stamina, and the rest on practicing powers like the Fists of Havoc. Two years must've passed before I finally became a blip on the radar of those wanting to team up with a Titan, but I was a small dot surrounded by higher potential candidates.

I was 17 when I decided to show everyone my skills. I had a large build thanks to Quinton's training, 6'9", and the perfect soldier. I entered the Tournament of Legends since I was finally old enough to compete. That's where I met Nathan, also known as "Wolf". He was scrawny and malnourished compared to me, and the battle was won by me pushing him down the largest hill like he was a small child. We spoke afterwards in the hospital (for him because he got a concussion, I made it to 2nd place), we laughed about that and after a half-hour of discussing what our plans were during that encounter, he asked me if we could start a Fireteam, I accepted but let him be the leader because I could never manage a squad unlike Wolf or Quinton.

We gained a reputation during the months and months of missions that were borderline suicidal for a group of two, because of that we were known as the best and the craziest team ever, and we accepted that. I don't know why Wolf likes those missions or deals with the aftermath of being pinned down by gun fire in a rotting trench as the Fallen approaches, but we get the job done. A nickel for every time the Vanguard changed the assigned Fireteam from a three-man squad to the pair of crazy professionals thanks to Wolf and my connections to Vanguard like his father, Rick, Sparks guardian, Jane, and Quinton.

Four years after we met, during the celebration of the Traveler, Wolf met with a lovely Hunter who likes to be called "Spark". The two of them banged and somehow Wolf still got her to join our Fireteam. I'm not complaining, but at some points in some missions I would've liked to have a Warlock to make a Bubble Shield when we were under too much fire, or a Nova Bomb for a group too far away for me to use my Fists of Havoc.

But here we are now, on the Moon. Wolf got us into this mission I bet thinking this would be another day in the office, but after our first fight seeing how many were guarding just the entrance we quickly realized that we may have bit off more than we can chew. I can only hope that one of us makes it to the security terminal and activate Plan C.

Ghost secretly and silently notified me that Wolf and Spark were on a secure channel, and I accepted that because those two have a history that I only slightly belong in so it's not my business unless they want me in. I constantly checked my motion tracker even though I knew there was no need for me to do so thanks to my genius idea of using an administrator terminal to make all doors from residential to security locked tight so we wouldn't have any surprises. We would have a straight shot to our objective if we don't encounter any more of the Hive.

There is one issue, this is still the Residential area, the place where most of the civilians were when the Hive attacked. I tried to warn the others about this but got no reply.

Sometimes the detachment between me and their "alone time" gets to me, are they now playing favorites? I once wondered who Wolf would choose to save if Spark and I were in a life threatening situation, would he save her so he doesn't lose a possible lover or go for me so he keeps his closest friend? I try not to think about it but sometimes I can't help it. I of course would save Spark because she's fast enough to save Wolf.

I shook the thought away and pushed forward faster, hoping the other two will speed up the pace.

"So what are we going to do if another firefight happens?" Wolf asked suddenly; referring to Spark's condition.

"I can hold my own," I heard a fist hit armor and a grunt before Spark continued. "I just need something to lean on and someone to watch my back."

"And what if you're knocked down and another rib is broken?"

"I already have three broken ones so it'll hurt slightly more. I'll manage."

"Broken limb?"

"Yet again, three broken ribs, I just won't use that limb."

"What if you die, then what?"

"You two have each other so losing me just means I will no longer be dragging you down."

A part of me snapped when she insisted that, I abruptly stopped and spun to face the two and I pointed an angry finger at Spark and seared through barred teeth "No one here is going to die nor are you slowing us down by any substantial way, now stop talking about dying and let's talk about how were going to get out of here!"

Spark leaned forward as the whole room shook around us. Vicious screams, starving howls, and threatening hisses rang all around us. The steel doors to our sides banged and groaned against the deadly strength behind it, we just walked into the middle of the lion's den and rung the dinner bell. Without a word we started running away from the doors but like dominoes falling, the subsequent rooms we passed mimicked the last.

A large _Crash!_ Exploded from the first couple doors and Hive sprang out like a flood. If I was looking behind me I would've shit myself, is there a horde of those beasts in every room? Sounds impossible but I rather not stop debate physics while dozens and dozens of _things_ are chasing me to appease their hunger. We went from walking to sprinting in a blink of an eye, in fact we were so scared of the hordes that we didn't dare try to aim and fire but Spark instead blindly fired behind herself. I bet my life that that was a waste of ammunition. I turned a corner past a blast door and slammed my fist against the code reader in hope it would do something, thankfully the machine started to close. The others noticed and we slowed down as the Hive collided with the thick wall right after it satisfyingly shut.

"What now?" Wolf asked in between panting, he was just as scared as I was. We needed to keep on moving so if they somehow break through the blast door.


End file.
